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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. clip — a video
  5. pass — a permit
  6. content — the amount
  7. rash — a series
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. clip — to cut
  11. club — for golf
  12. rash — hasty
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spell — magic
  20. club — a group
  21. swing — music
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com